1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optics, spectroscopy, and illumination sources. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for generating customized spectral profiles, which can be used to generate corresponding optical filters, lamps, or illuminants that have a particular spectral profile as a feature. Representative embodiments relate to spectral profiles that may be used for (a) protecting works of art or other objects subject to photochemical degradation, (b) aesthetically rendering objects, and/or (c) correcting the rendering of an object.
2. Background
It is known that the quality of light falling upon a work of art affects the degree to which that work of art will be damaged through photochemical processes. Photodamage of works of art, in turn, is an important concern not only for the financial well-being of museums, but also for the preservation of this and foreign cultures.
One of the most common methods to minimize photodamage is to minimize the amount of ultraviolet and/or infrared radiation that impacts artwork. Although this method may be somewhat effective, it unfortunately does not prevent damage to the artwork imposed by photons that do not significantly affect the color rendering of that artwork. In other words, today's solutions do not block visible-light photons that do not contribute to the visualization of the object. Put yet another way, today's solutions are not equipped to render only the necessary portions of photometric light—transmit visible-light photons that significantly affect the visualization of a particular object (e.g., light necessary for proper color rendering) while blocking photons unneeded for this task.
It is also known that the quality of light falling upon a work of art affects the aesthetics of that art. For instance, illumination by candlelight may give a work of art a different “look and feel” than when the art is illuminated by fluorescent lighting. While the underlying physical reasons for this difference are relatively complex, the fact remains that existing technology is ill-equipped at creating customizable filters, lamps, or other illuminants for aesthetically rendering an object. In particular, today's technology does not afford museums the opportunity to easily select different filters, lamps, or other illuminants that may be used to simulate, for instance, candlelight, torchlight, oil lamp lighting, sunlight, roomlight, mantle-light, gas light, etc. Further, today's technology does not afford museums the opportunity to create such filters, lamps, or other illuminants customized for a particular piece of art. Accordingly, many times, museum patrons cannot fully appreciate the way in which the artist himself or herself saw a particular work of art as it was being painted. Color contrast effects can depend strongly on the type of illuminant used, and present techniques provide no way to correct for the poor color contrasting effects due to some illuminants.
Finally, it is known that, in certain situations, the rendering of artwork by existing illumination may be degraded for one or more reasons. For instance, if a painting is damaged or particularly faded in one or more regions, existing illumination may do nothing to correct for the problem and may continue to exacerbate it. Further, if a viewer is suffering from a form of vision loss, one or more colors of a work of art may be diminished or otherwise affected relative to other colors. A common form of vision loss in adults is that the perception of blue light fades due to yellowing of the lens of the eye. Unfortunately, today's technology does not provide solutions to these types of problems.
These issues highlight problems existing in today's technology but are not meant to constitute an exhaustive list. Rather, they show that there is an important need for the techniques of this disclosure, which address concerns mentioned above.